Imran to announce Long March date by Sunday

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Correspondent

MULTAN: PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday said that he will announce the date for his party’s much-awaited long to Islamabad between May 25 to May 29. He, however, did not specify a date.
Khan made the announcement while addressing a jalsa in Multan. It was expected that the PTI chairman would share the exact date of the long march Friday, but he did not do so.
Throughout this month, the PTI chairman had been holding a series of jalsas across the country to mobilise the masses against the alleged “imported” government and to demand a fresh election. The Multan rally was the last one of the series before the party’s planned long march to Islamabad.
At the beginning of his address, the former prime minister thanked the people of Multan for giving him a warm welcome and added that he always prayed to Allah to awaken the conscience of the people of Pakistan so that the nation “does not bow before thieves, robbers, mafia or a superpower.”
He also thanked the woman and youth of Multan for attending his rally, adding that no revolution could be “successful” unless and until the women and youth partake in it.
The former prime minister said that the fear and humiliation of losing jobs “turns a big man into a small one”, and added that till the shackles of such fear are not broken, the country will not turn into a great nation.
The PTI chairman added that Prophet (PBUH) helped Muslims break those shackles and helped them rule the world. Providing more examples, he explained that no one turned into a big businessman until they overcame their fears and no soldier received any medals by fearing death.
Khan said that when Edmund Hillary decided to climb Mount Everest, he first conquered his fear. Similarly, the “corrupt” leaders ruling this country have imposed this fear that if we do not polish America’s boots, we cannot progress.
The PTI chairman deplored that, unfortunately, the country always had to witness leadership that bowed before the United States, adding that
“such demeanour bought bad repute to the country”.
The former prime minister maintained that “this was the reason that a conspiracy was carried out to oust him from office”. He added that the conspiracy was hatched by those who “looted” the country for 30 years.
Khan went on to say that the Opposition — during his premiership — tried to conspire against him so that he could be forced to forgive their corruption cases and give another National Reconciliation Order (NRO) to them.
“If I would have forgiven their cases, this would have meant that I had not become the premier based on an ideology or to run a movement for justice. It would have meant that I had entered politics just to win a seat,” he said. “I would have been like former president General Pervez Musharraf, who forgave corrupt politicians just to save his seat”
Turning his guns towards his arch-rival PML-N, the PTI chairman asked his supporters if they have ever wondered how a “jackal” could become a leader.
Khan, while citing the example of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, said that when former dictator Musharraf put Nawaz Sharif in jail, he kept crying throughout his captivity.
The former prime minister said that his government was told that Nawaz was “very ill” when he was jailed, adding that many people — including former human rights minister Shireen Mazari — urged him to send the PML-N supremo abroad for treatment.
“[However,] when he boarded the plane, a new Nawaz Sharif came into being. The illness vanished. He climbed the stairs [of the aeroplane] as if he was training for the Olympics,” said the PTI chairman.
He added that the PML-N supremo transformed from a sick person into a politician as soon as he reached London.
“Tell me PML-N, how can you walk behind such a person,” asked Khan.
Berating Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Khan said that the coalition government was so weak that it was calling for a National Security Committee meeting to determine the price of petroleum products.
“[They are doing this] so the blame for rising prices falls on the Army,” said the PTI chairman.
In his address, Khan asked the people of Multan why so many lotas (turncoats) had emerged from South Punjab and added that he was thankful that members of the parliament, who had voted in favour of Hamza Shehbaz, were disqualified.